Most children experience daycare before their school career starts, thus, daycare plays an important role in a child’s emotional, social, and cognitive development. High quality daycare ensures children have the necessary social and emotional skills and also possess the cognitive skills and readiness to succeed in a school environment
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Children’s personalities are shaped by a number of factors including but not limited to family and daycare environment. Success in school is influenced by the quality of daycare a child receives, thus, the parents should pay more attention to the quality of daycare available to their children. In an article in the Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, author reminds us of the importance of environmental factors by claiming, “The environment factors can affect child’s development in a negative or a positive manner” (Santos, M. 2013). Not only child’s development should be monitored but measures should also be taken to ensure children are intellectually stimulated at daycare facility. When families take active interest in the growth and development of their children, it ensures that children practice skills at home as well that they learn at the daycare facility.
Teaching of social and emotional skills should be tightly woven into school curriculum so that children develop self-confidence and take greater interest in learning. The authors of an article in the Journal of Education Psychology wrote that “Center-based preschool programs may be an important social policy level to aid young children in gaining the early cognitive skill necessary for the successful transition to formal school.” (Votruba-Drzal, E. 2013). Daycare facilities enable children to socially interact with other kids as well as adults. Children also learn valuable communication skills and are inspired to think creatively. As a result, daycare helps children build positive verbal communication and social skills that also enhance their experiences in school. Children also become more task-oriented and extroverted and develop productive relationships with peers.
There are several factors that determine the quality of daycare children receive such as classroom activities, teacher-child relationship, and teacher qualifications. Families from higher socio-economic backgrounds, thus, choose higher quality daycare services for their children. Early intervention programs have been found to yield long term positive benefits for children in terms of cognitive development and academic performance. Thus, daycare teachers can play a valuable role in helping children develop their cognitive skills by providing them with guidance and arranging intellectually stimulating activities for them. Thus, it is clear quality childcare generates long-term dividends for children through readiness for school, better memory, better language, and better quantitative skills.
Quality childcare providers that focus on asking questions, vocalizations, and other forms of verbal communication help students improve cognitive and language skills. Normally, greater number of standards in a daycare setting is positively related to a child’s learning capabilities and outcomes. The authors in an article in Child Care in Practice noted, “High quality pre-school is related to better intellectual and social/behavioral development for children and staffing training and qualifications are associated with better quality of provision.” (O’Hara, M. 2010).
Childcare providers that are caring, attentive, culturally-sensitive, and put huge emphasis on social skills help create a nurturing and intellectually stimulating environment for children. An article in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development reports that “Children appear happier, have closer and more secure attachment to caregivers, and perform better on standardized cognitive and language tests in setting with more warm and caring child care providers who have vested interest in the children’s development.”
The research body is clear that high quality childcare services play a vital role in a child’s social and cognitive development. High quality daycare adequately prepares children for an environment of higher learning. A child’s growth is influenced by multiple factors in addition to daycare such as environment in which they grow up and the family. High quality childcare services are associated with better cognitive and social skills at school provided other factors such as family background remain constant. Well-designed curriculum puts special emphasis on developing children’s social skills so that they feel comfortable interacting with people of all ages whether their peers or adults. Effective daycare centers strive to provide diverse experiences to children such as reading and writing activities, playing with other children, drawing, and even musical activities. Similarly, children are also provided guidance to ensure they develop discipline and participate in intellectually stimulating activities. Thus, high quality daycare services provide children a strong foundation for their academic career in the near future.
